


Kids Suck, But You're Great

by gymlily06



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Bullying, Gen, Peter Parker Gets a Hug, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Protective Tony Stark, Tony Stark Has A Heart, a few hugs actually
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-14 03:40:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29785902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gymlily06/pseuds/gymlily06
Summary: Tony wasn't expecting a call from Peter tonight. Friday didn't alert him that the kid was out patrolling tonight, so it couldn't be Spiderman related.He was already up when his phone buzz. He was working in the lab, tinkering with a few new ideas. He let the phone buzz three times before he gave in. Peter's name flashed across the screen.Placing his screwdriver on the table, he pressed the phone to his ear, "Hey, kid. What's up?""H-hey, Mr. Stark! I-uh, Can I-"Tony hears mutters of"I shouldn't have called, this is stupid"but then the kid continues,"Can I, uh, swing by the Compound? You are at the Compound, right? Uh, I- never mind. I'll be okay, sorry-"Or...Peter Parker gets bullied at school and calls Tony that night because he was still upset. Tony has a plan.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 3
Kudos: 128





	Kids Suck, But You're Great

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys enjoy reading! This is my first time posting, so I'm a little nervous. Okay, go ahead and read! :)

Tony wasn't expecting a call from Peter tonight. Friday didn't alert him that the kid was out patrolling tonight, so it couldn't be Spiderman related. 

He was already up when his phone buzz. He was working in the lab, tinkering with a few new ideas. He let the phone buzz three times before he gave in. Peter's name flashed across the screen.

Placing his screwdriver on the table, he pressed the phone to his ear, "Hey, kid. What's up?"

_"H-hey, Mr. Stark! I-uh, Can I-"_ Tony hears mutters of _"I shouldn't have called, this is stupid"_ but then the kid continues, _"Can I, uh, swing by the Compound? You are at the Compound, right? Uh, I- never mind. I'll be okay, sorry-"_

"Kid, breathe. Yeah, you can swing by the Compound. I'm in the lab. Do you want me to send Happy or are you actually going to swing here?"

_"Uh, I-I'll swing there. Uh, are you sure I'm not bothering you? Cause, cause if I am, I won't come. Um, I'll be fine."_

"No, just come by." _I need to make sure you're okay._

_"O-okay, um, see you."_ With that, Peter hung up.

Tony puts his phone down, picking up his screwdriver again. Whatever he was trying to do, he couldn't focus on it now. He didn't want to admit it, but he was worried.  
The kid sounded... nervous, upset, unsettled? Tony couldn't decide. He hasn't sounded like that since he was stabbed on patrol. Even then, he was weirdly calm for a person who'd been stabbed. 

"Boss, Peter is here," Friday alerts, a little while later. 

"Send him to the lab, Fri."

"Okay, sir."

Not even five minutes later, Peter stumbles in. _He looks like shit,_ Tony thinks. His hair is messy, tangled, and unruly. His eyes are red and puffy, making it obvious he'd been crying, that and the fresh tear tracks. 

"So. Rough day?" Tony asked, looking Peter up and down.

Peter had a second of silence, before opening his mouth and bursting into tears.

"Fuck," Tony muttered, standing up from his lab table and pulling him into a hug. _Fuck, fuck, fuck,_ he didn't know what to do.  
What do you do when your superhero intern who you think of as a son comes into your lab crying?

"Shoot... I'm sorry, I-I'm fine. Um, I-I got your shirt, um, soaked. I'm s-"

"Pete, shut up," Tony interrupted gently, squeezing a little tighter. "It doesn't matter. I have plenty of shirts."

Peter pulled away, "Mr. Stark, I shouldn't, I-I shouldn't have called. Y-you've got... more important things going on-"

"Fuck that. I don't," Tony dismissed with the wave of a hand, "I feel like this is more important than me trying to find something to build."

Peter sniffed, wiping his eyes with shaking fingers. His face formed into a sadder look like he was mad at himself. Tony knew that look.   
"Whatever you're thinking, stop it. I don't care what it is, just stop," Tony said firmly, pulling Peter in for another hug.  
Tony sighed, knowing that wouldn't stop Peter from messing with his head, "Okay then. If you don't stop, at least tell me what happened."

Peter kept quiet; he just held on tightly to Tony's shirt. It felt like a never-ending stream of tears poured out while he shook his head.

Tony wracked his brain for what might've caused this. Was it school, friends? Or more serious? Like his uncle's death? Or even nightmares from battles? Tony knew what that was like. "Uh, fallout with friends? Nightmares?" Tony tried, unsure of how best to tread. 

Peter shook his head, trying to muffle his sniffles. Tony rubbed circles into his back when he noticed the rip in Peter's shirt. His fingers moved up to it, then dug underneath a little, pulling it up to reveal a forming bruise.

Peter winced and pulled away. He took a few steps back, eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights. 

Tony's eyes widened, "Pete, has someone been hurting you?"

"No," Peter immediately said, but Tony walked back up to him, grabbing him gently by the shoulders, face serious and concerned. "Pete, _who_ is _hurting_ y-"

"It's stupid. It was just one day," Peter cuts him off. Pushing the tears pouring from his eyes off his cheeks hurriedly, he continues, "I-I'm not, sorry, I'm not this upset, Jesus, really, I don't know why I'm... sorry. I-I'm acting...acting like a mess. P-please don't think I'm weak or anything, um, 'cause I-I'm not. I just-" His voice broke off, unable to finish as his voice broke and more tears flowed.

Tony's face etched into a look of horror. He could never think this kid was weak. He's seen this kid do so much to help people. "Oh, Pete." Tony quietly said, embracing him in another hug, "I could never think you're weak. I've seen you lift a bus, throw cars, hell, what about the ferry incident? You save everyone you can when you're in action. Does that sound like a weak person?"

Peter buried his head into Tony's chest further, shoulder's heaving, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm s-"

"If you don't stop apologizing, I'll have a heart attack. Are you trying to kill me?" Tony interrupted, and Peter let out a breath, laughing a little. "I say we go get ice cream now and then come back up to the lab and you can help me improve your web-shooters. What'd you think?"

Peter nodded, giving him a watery smile. "Yeah, that'd be nice."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After getting a tub of mint chip ice cream and two spoons, Peter and Tony go back up to the lab. They work on Peter's web-shooters for a while, which is nice because it distracts Peter from being upset. But... Tony needs to know what happened.

Once they take a break, Tony finds the courage to ask Peter what happened again. 

"Look, kid, _please_ tell me what happened," He starts. "You don't have to if you really don't want to, but I might be of help. That is if you tell me." He pulled a face and winced, "I mean, I'm not what one would call a "responsible role model" or whatever- but I might help you. It just... makes me uncomfortable seeing you like this."

"I... kids, right?" Peter gave a fake smile, "they suck. It's-"

"If 'fine' is the next word to come out of you're mouth, I swear. Pete, if they're hurting you, it's not fine."

"They didn't hurt me," Peter whispered. "I've faced off way worse, I can deal with a few shoves-"

"I didn't mean that kind of hurt," Tony sympathized. His eyes were boring into Peter's, brow furrowed as he observed Peter's miserable expression.

Peter shook his head, sighing, "It was... nothing. I had this lame crush on a girl for a few months. She, um, had a lot of friends, hung out with the popular kids and all, but... she seemed nice. I don't know... she smiled at me."

Peter laughed and shook his head in self-deprecation, "Damn, was I wrong."

Tony didn't say anything, but he took Peter's hand and dragged him back over to his web-shooters. He thought the kid would do better talking and working, not just talking. He wanted him to feel better.

Once both their hands were moving and working on the web-shooters, Tony waved his hand, "Continue."

Peter nervously chews on his lip, trying to prevent more tears from falling, "I mean, it's not, it's not a big deal, Mr. Stark. I don't want to both-"

"Not bothering me. Just go on with the story, Pete," Tony interrupted.

Peter took in a jagged breath, "She asked me out, at lunch, in front of her friends." He turned away, eyes wandering everywhere except Tony, "you know me... I ramble. I got excited and I just couldn't shut up. It's embarrassing. Stupid. And... yeah."

"What happened after that, then?" Tony prompted. That couldn't be it. There had to be something. 

Peter shrugged, facial expression hardening, "Turns out it was a prank. They knew I liked her... they wanted to see how I'd react."

Tony sighed, trying to think up what he'd do to these brats. He could kill them if need be. 

Peter continued, "I guess, I acted like an idiot. She came up to my lunch table and Ned and MJ weren't there... and yeah. I said yes, of course, but I just got over-excited, you know? Her friends started yelling, telling me it was a joke. They thought it was the most hilarious thing ever."

Tony nodded, lips formed into a hard line as he worked on the new web formula Peter wanted to try. "I see." 

"Yep, public humiliation at its finest," Peter sighed. "They... they wouldn't let me leave. They kept... kept shoving me and-and I couldn't get out. I was trapped. They kept pushing me down, and I didn't want... didn't want to hurt them. So, I just..."

"You just let them," Tony finished. "Jesus Christ, Pete."

Tony saw Peter's lip wobble and tears streamed down his cheeks again. He wiped his eyes and focused on the webs. Red tints the corners of Tony's eyes. But Peter didn't need him shouting about how terrible those brats were, didn't need a rant about how he should stand up for himself. 

"How am I gonna go back there? They're awful on a great day but after this? I-I... I can't."

Fuck. Tony isn't equipped for this. Sure, he's Tony Stark, billionaire, genius, the face of Stark Industries, fucking Ironman, but this? No, he didn't know what to do. He didn't know how to make this all better, how to fix it, how to make Peter feel better.

"Kid, look, I'm shitty at this, at emotions," Tony began, having no clue exactly where he'd end up, "I don't know what to say to make everything okay. To be honest, I don't know what will. School sucks. _People_ suck." _Way to go, Stark. Very uplifting._ "But, there are more good things in life than bad. I think. You, Peter Parker, are one of the best things the world has." Tony smirks, "Well, maybe you're a close second to me."

Peter laughs, a real laugh, he hasn't laughed since he got here. "That's good, laughter. I like laughter. Keep it up."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Mr. Stark, do I really have to?" Peter whines, while getting in the back of Tony's Audi. 

"Yes, Pete," Tony said, "Don't worry, I have a plan." Peter groans at that.

Peter spent the night at Tony the compound after Tony talked to May over the phone. Now, Tony's driving Peter to school so he can give those snot-nosed brats a run for their money. Peter still doesn't want to go, but Tony has a plan.

They pull up to the front of the school, Peter still complaining. "It Friday, Mr. Stark. Can't I go back on Monday?"

"No, Pete. I told you I-"

"have a plan," Peter finishes.

Tony watches Peter as he notices the brats that Peter was so upset over. Peter's dumbstruck. Tony will savor the look on his face for the rest of his life. "Mr. Stark," Peter sits up, "That's, that's them."

"Uh-huh," He replies cooly, starting to roll down the windows.

"Th-they're waiting for me. Mr. Stark, I-I, um, don't think I can do this."

"Sure you can, Pete. They've got something to say to you," Tony drives slowly past them, the windows fully rolled down now. "Hey, kiddies. You have something to say to Peter?"

The first boy, the boy who gave Peter the bruise on his shoulder, steps up, "I'm'sorry'Parker," he mumbles. Tony gives him a look and he straightens up, "I'm sorry for what we did, Park-Peter."

The other six people that were there went next all in a row. Finally, the girl who fake asked him out, steps up to the car. Her hands are shaky and she can barely look at Peter.   
"I'm sorry, Peter. Um, would you maybe actually want to go out sometime?" She asks, but Peter gives her a look of disgust.

"I think I'd rather jump out of a moving car," He quips, even though he has done that before. But that's a story for another time.


End file.
